Charlie Nicholas believes Everton and Chelsea FC will play out a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park on Sunday

Charlie Nicholas is backing Everton and Chelsea FC to play out a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Blues will make the long trip to Merseyside in pursuit of three points to reduce the gap on their top-four rivals.

Neither Arsenal nor Manchester United are in Premier League action this weekend to give Chelsea FC the chance to hoist themselves up the table.

Chelsea FC are in sixth place in the English top-flight table and three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal with eight games to play.

Maurizio Sarri’s side can hoist themselves above Manchester United with a victory over Everton at Goodison Park.

The Blues would need to beat Everton by six goals to dump Arsenal out of the Premier League’s top four.

However, former Arsenal midfielder Nicholas is tipping Chelsea FC to drop points in a 1-1 stalemate with Everton on Sunday afternoon.

“Chelsea are playing catch-up now after being held at home to Wolves. They’ve got a real chance of the top four. Am I convinced? I’m not,” Nicholas told Sky Sports.

“I honestly don’t know what Everton are about. They’re just trying to get to the summer and see if they can keep their fans onside. I’ve gone for a few draws this week and I don’t see this being any different.

“Everton will double up on Eden Hazard and try to suffocate the game. Gylfi Sigurdsson might get a goal. They’re not expected to win, but if they keep their organisation and get something from it the crowd will go away fairly content.”

Chelsea FC were 5-0 winners against Dynamo Kyiv in the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday night.

The Blues can still qualify for next season’s Champions League by virtue of winning the Europa League in Maurizio Sarri’s first season in charge.

The west London side lost to Manchester City on penalties in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley last month.